


A Blessing or a Curse (LU Discord Weekly Prompt, Week 91)

by NoveIous



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst and Feels, Blood and Injury, Everyone Needs A Hug, LU Discord Weekly Prompt, Major Character Injury, Twilight (Linked Universe) Needs a Hug, no beta reader we die like men, this is a fucking mess but yeah it's fine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 08:29:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29433168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoveIous/pseuds/NoveIous
Summary: Being chosen as the bearer of the Triforce of Courage is often viewed as a blessing or a curse by those it effects. However, the Master Sword is a double-edged sword-- And not one that's dull.The chain ends up being caught in the middle of another battle, one that has a hefty toll attached.
Relationships: Four & Hyrule & Legend & Sky & Time & Twilight & Warriors & Wild & Wind (Linked Universe), Time & Twilight (Linked Universe), Time & Wild (Linked Universe), Twilight & Wild (Linked Universe)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 51





	A Blessing or a Curse (LU Discord Weekly Prompt, Week 91)

The Hero of the Wild was a talented fighter, obvious even without seeing him in battle.

Maybe it was the way he moved, near-silent even when he wasn't trying to be, or maybe it was the way he held himself: like somebody who'd ran through drill after drill, and had the posture of a soldier ingrained into them. Hell, maybe Hylia that was watching out for him, for one and only one aspect of his adventures.

The fact of the matter was, being "blessed" to become the hero was most likely the worst thing that could have happened to the Champion. With so many expectations already put onto his shoulders, it should have been obvious that it was far too much for anybody, let alone a _child_ to bear.

However, whatever else Wild had experienced-- whatever kept plaguing him, along with the clear struggle of uncovering more and more about his background-- Twi wasn't privy to. He trusted his protégé, he knew what he was doing, and Wild was stronger than he gave himself credit for.

But that didn't mean he didn't worry.

Twilight knew he shouldn't, of course. There wasn't a way not to acknowledge the Champion's skill in battle. That didn't mean that he wasn't terrified to see him dispatching enemies on ledges several stories high. It was a trial in itself to keep moving, and to not let his heart seize up every time something launched at his protégé. He dragged his gaze away from the cliff side, focusing on the rest of the monsters on the ground.

They'd been passing through Wild's Hyrule, in an area he'd said was named Dueling Peaks, making their way to Kakariko Village. Wild had been leading, of course, but being there had been rough in itself, even when disregarding the monsters that seemed to crawl every inch of this area. Small things had been throwing him off-- a recipe he'd been working on, a broadsword he'd pulled from his slate, things as inconsequential as the view-- and it showed. Even though he hadn't said anything, it was clear the others had noticed. Wind making sure to keep him talking while he prepared a meal, Warriors and Legend dragging him into another debate, and Time saying something to him that had seemed to help, somehow. Hell, Twi wasn't the only one who kept risking glances up the cliff face.

The others were also holding their ground, Twilight noted, as a bokoblin practically launched over his head. He followed the arc, whirling back to look at where it had come from: Wind, on the other hand, had went back to helping Four drive back a moblin, armed to the teeth. He'd have to congratulate him on that later, since Wars was losing ground to a remarkably well-equipped lizalfos. When he was sure the other man had seen him, he nodded once and rammed his shield into the creature's back, letting him take the opportunity to get a clean jab at it's chest. When it crumpled, Wars nodded sharply and grimaced. "I could've handled that!" 

"I'm sure you could have," Twilight laughed, shaking his head, "but you'd nearly gotten knocked flat on your ass!"

"I'll knock _somebody_ on his ass!"

Time butted in, hacking at a silver bokoblin, "As much as I'm happy to see you both in high spirits, for the love of Hylia, let's get this over with."

Wars simply nodded again, but he couldn't manage to wipe the grin off of his face. "Sure, old man, I'll hurry this up so you can get back to your nap."

Their strategy worked well, with two or three of them tackling one enemy at a time, and they were slowly thinning out their ranks. Hyrule's hands seemed to spark and crackle with magic, while Four seemed to be in multiple places at once, despite never letting his opponents get any attacks in edgewise. Sky executed maneuvers with a flick of his wrist, the Master Sword practically singing as it cut through armor and monster alike. 

Just as he heard Legend shout from where he'd been holding off a blue moblin, Twilight heard a sharp whistling noise fly right past his ear. He spun, seeing the arrow thud right into another lizalfos, already beginning to disintegrate. He didn't pause in his attack against the near-relentless horde, but knew he'd thank him later. The Champion in question had nearly paused mid-air, firing shots at several monsters that had been attempting to corner their group. 

The tide of the battle was gradually beginning to shift in their favor, after that. It was hardly a battle at that point, just them swarming the last few stragglers. Twilight could feel the buzz of adrenaline that had surfaced during the fight begin to slow down. It was only when the last monster had fallen that he allowed himself to sheath his sword, moving over to the others. Wind was recounting how he'd thrown at least 6 bokoblins at once as Hyrule worked on bandaging a nasty scrape on his arm, but refused to answer any questions like how or when he did so. Twilight fought to not roll his eyes, but couldn't help but smile. _Thank Hylia that they're alright,_ he thought, turning to look up the cliff face to try and see where Wild should have been scrambling down the side, and where he should have been alright. After all, there weren't many up on the ledge, only a few other archers that he'd dispatched easily. 

And, thankfully, he'd just been a little preoccupied with his bow. It must have broke when he'd been firing, time seeming to bend to his will as he'd glided. Twi caught Four's attention, nearly cracking up when the smith's expression dropped.

"Wh- How? How does he manage to break every single goddess-damned weapon he uses?!" 

The smith couldn't even think of what to say, and stormed off to look at the weapons they'd gotten from the downed enemies. He watched him go, then wondered why Wild was so caught up with a broken bow; After all, he'd simply shrugged it off when he managed to break the Master Sword, even if Sky had a heart attack.

He glanced up, shielding his eyes from the glare, and managed to see Wild tipping off of the edge.

For just a moment, his heart stopped. But the Champion was known to have skills that didn't often seem safe, and Twi was trying to be less like a mother hen, so he gave him a moment, sure that he'd use his glider and swoop on over or somehow skid down the sheer drop on his shield. And, for a moment, it _did_ look like he was gliding over.

Until the Yiga Footsoldier that had been trading blows with him on the ledge shot him in the side.

* * *

Feeling an arrow tear through your side is never fun. After all, they aren't really meant to feel good.

The impact of the arrow tearing through Wild's side was enough to force him to let go of the paraglider. He went to go for his bow, but it had already snapped when he'd been laying down fire, trying to make sure that the people he cared about would be alright. He already failed the last time, and look where that got Hyrule.

The Champion opened his Sheikah slate, time slowing around him almost imperceptibly. He withdrew another bow in a flash of blue light, the movement in his arms sending a searing pain down his side. _Oh Goddess, that fucking hurts,_ he thought, wincing through his teeth. He nocked an arrow, one that seemed to absorb the heat around it even before it had been fired, and he took aim.

He took a deep breath, a habit before every single arrow he'd loosed, and caused the arrow to feel like it had buried even deeper into him. He let the arrow fly before he wouldn't be able to, sending a second following after that as time began to go far too fast for comfort.

He caught sight of a massive burst of ice smashing directly into the Yiga clan member, and attempted to right himself. He had to let go of his paraglider, and it slowly fluttered down as he plummeted, landing directly on a less steep part of the incline. The air rushed out of his lungs, and the ground practically tore at him as he rolled, branches and rocks grabbing at him and twisting the proverbial knife of the goddess-damned arrow in his side. He practically bounced off of a rock that smacked into his skull, his vision darkening around the edges. Wild could hear the blood pounding in his ears, and everything was going painfully slowly.

It was almost a relief when he hit the bottom, but Wild was chased into an uneasy sleep by somebody screaming his name.

* * *

Twilight had a scream torn from his throat the second he saw the person shoot the Cub. His boots pounded against the terrain, feeling like every atom in his body wanted to tear away from this vaguely Hylian shape and barrel at Wild. He ground his teeth, sprinting faster, his frantic footsteps starting to beat a steady rhythm into his brain, a repeating mantra that screamed at the Goddesses, at Fate, at anyone who would listen. It shouted at the heavens: _You will not take him today._

He would defy the Goddess time and time again if it meant that Wild would be okay.

Dropping beside him, Twi immediately checked if Wild was awake, desperately grasping onto the hope that he was. He opened his eyes, but he barely registered what was going on, eyes glassy as blood trickled from his side and various cuts and scrapes from the foliage.

"Hey, Cub," he said, voice shaking, "I need you to stay awake for me, okay?"

Wild looked at him, not fully grasping what Twilight was saying. He kept one hand on his side, signing slowly, "What?"

Twi had started to cry, but still did his best to stay composed for Wild's sake. "You need to stay awake, kid. Please, you-"

He was startled by a hand on his shoulder, whirling and nearly growling at his mentor. Time understood, but it was unnerving to see the both of them like this. They held eye contact for a moment, until Wild shifted, trying to curl into himself further. Hyrule had gone around, trying to get a good estimate of what the arrow's tip looked like and a general idea of what he could do. 

After a moment, Wild slowly finger-spelled to Twi, "What's wrong?" It was difficult to even understand what he meant due to the tremors in his hands.

"What makes you think something's wrong?" He asked, desperate to try and keep him talking, to try and keep him awake, and alive. He made eye contact with Hyrule, who'd wrapped a bandage tightly to immobilize the arrow.

Wild's brow furrowed, as if he was trying to remember just what he'd said to him. After a painstakingly long minute, he simply pointed at Hyrule. The gist of it was obvious.

He was just thrilled that he was lucid enough to somewhat understand what was happening. "Yeah, that's fair. You got hurt, so Hyrule's here to patch you up. Does that sound okay to you?"

It took him another terrifyingly long moment for him to respond, but he gave Twi a thumbs up before leaning into him even more heavily. 

Luckily enough, Hyrule had gotten a good enough idea of what needed to be done.

"Hold onto him, I'm going to try and get the arrow out, but this isn't going to be pretty." 

Twilight continued to hold onto him, while Time braced his shoulders. Hyrule wasted no time, cutting off one side and pulling the rest through, while Wild flinched uncontrollably. He immediately started wrapping the wound, making sure that he applied enough so that the wound wouldn't get jostled or infected.

All the while, Twi kept him talking and responding to mundane questions, even when the others arrived after ensuring there weren't any other surprises like the Yiga Footsoldier around. Though it wouldn't have mattered, really. Twilight would have been able to recognize the mask in his sleep.

* * *

All Twilight could think about was seeing him fall, and seeing the arrow hit. It was like a cursed musical box, replaying the same warped theme against it's own volition. It wasn't as difficult to block out while he was around the others, all of them trying to distract each other from the Hinox in the room. 

Wild had been in and out of consciousness, often barely able to stomach the potion Twi had tried to convince him to drink. He had been half-delirious half the time he'd been conscious-- Twi thought he might be going through old memories, considering who he thought he was talking to. But he was going to be okay. Wind had insisted it, nodding fervently before turning in for the night. And, while that wasn't as reassuring as Hyrule confirming that he'd be alright, it still meant a great deal to the rancher, who hadn't left the Cub's side.

And, of course the old man had noticed. He'd been looking at him for the past 15 minutes. The silence was growing unbearable, but it gave him something to focus on other then the obvious, though, so that was a small plus.

They let the silence continue for another moment, before Time stated the obvious.

"You're worried."

Something about that caused him to laugh for a moment, a bitter, hysterical thing. Of course he was worried! Why wouldn't he be? The Cub was hurt, and he was suffering through things nobody should have to experience, let alone a kid.

He finally regained his composure. "Yeah Time, I'm worried. Not sure what to say. Wild's hurt. I'm worried. I don't think that's surprising or unusual."

Time tilted his head slightly, as if to say _'Go on?'_

Twilight sighed. "Look, I- Alright, look, I'm worried for him. I'm scared for him. He's-" He put his head in his hands, shaking his head. "I don't know how to say it."

"You guys are close-knit."

The rancher shook his head. "It's not that, it's just-- He's a kid, Time. Hell, he's never said his age, but he looks like a kid, somebody who shouldn't have to worry about being shot by a fuckin assassin. I know full well you were younger when you defeated Ganon. He's had to do all this shit _alone._ Fuck, it just hardly seems _fair._ That Hylia chose a kid to bear that burden--"

Time gave him a hug, something they both needed.

"I wish I could tell you that I have the same unflinching faith in the Goddess that Sky does, Pup. I can't. But I can tell you that Hylia chose Wild for a reason. He's strong, Twi. He'll pull through, and I know full well we'll all be there for him when he does."

He nodded, tearing up and breaking away. "Thank you, Time."

"You'd do the same."

At that moment, Wild shifted on his bedroll, a sure sign he was going to be coming to for a bit.

They both exchanged a look, and Twi sat down nearby.

They'd all be alright, even if he had to fight fate to make sure of it.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you for reading this far, this is actually my first public fic. I'm actually really scared about posting this, but that's besides the point.
> 
> This fic was written for the LU Discord Weekly Prompt, Week 91. If you enjoyed this or think there's anything I should change/improve, feel free to leave a comment!
> 
> [slight title change since I Didn't like it anymore]


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